Cleaning device for hopper outlets



Jan. 16, 1940. R KEHL 2,187,587

CLEANING DEVICE FOR HOPPER OUTLETS Filed Aug. 3, 1935 INVENTOR ROBERT J KEHL ATTORN EY Patented Jan. 16, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,187,587 CLEANING DEVICE FOR HOPPER OUTLETS Application August 3, 1935, Serial No. 34,502

16 Claims.

This invention relates to apparatus for insuring the free flow of material from a container wherein such material has a tendency to cake or adhere to the container outlet. Morespecifically, this in- 5 vention relates to an improved cleaning apparatus employed in dislodging adhering calcium carbide and breaking-up calcium carbide cake which forms adjacent the discharge outlet of the carbide hopper of an acetylene generator.

In acetylene generators of the carbide-to-water type, there is a tendency for the granular carbide in the feed hopper to become moist and cake or adhere to the surfaces in the immediate vicinity of the outlet opening, and this is particularly true during prolonged standby periods. Carbide cake due to slaking or packing may also be formed during the normal operation of the generator. This adhering and caking of the carbide is objectionable because the free flow of the carbide is restricted or entirely prevented and the carbide then will not pass through the outlet opening,

even though the feed valve which ordinarily controls the flow of the carbide is in such a position as would normally permit the required amount of carbide to drop into the water beneath the hopper to generate acetylene.

The principal object of this invention is to provide apparatus for insuring the free flow of material through the outlet of a container, such material having a tendency to cake or adhere in the region adjacent the outlet. Other objects are to provide apparatus for dislodging carbide cake and for cleaning the surfaces adjacent the outlet of a 3 carbide hopper in an acetylene generator; to provide apparatus operable through the charging door of the generator, of which the hopper is a part; to provide such apparatus which is normally inoperative and so positioned as to offer no obstruction to the ordinary feeding of the carbide; and to minimize the possibility of the produotion of sparks due to vigorous use of the apparatus, since such sparks would ignite a combustible or explosive mixture of gases present in an acetylene generator.

These and other novel features of thisinvention will be apparent from the following description and the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a front elevation, partly in section, of

an embodiment of this invention, shown in connection with the carbide hopper of a water-tocarbide type of acetylene generator, such as that described and claimed in the U. S. Patent No. 2,106,972. i

Fig. 2 is a horizontal sectional view taken along line 2--2 of Fig. 1 to illustrate parts of the apparatus more clearly.

Fig. 3 is a front elevation of a portion of the acetylene generator previously mentioned, pro vided with the apparatus shown in Fig. 1, and 5 having parts broken away to more clearly illu trate the apparatus of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of an element forming part of the apparatus of this invention.

Referring to Fig. 3 of the drawingfthere is shown an acetylene generator comprising a water container A and a housing B secured thereto, within which a calcium carbide hopper C is arranged and supported in any suitable manner, and to which hopper an embodiment D of this invention is afiixed.

Referring especially to Figs. 1 and 2, the hopper C consists of an upper portion I I to which a lower portion 12 is secured in any suitable manner, as by Welding. A discharge spout it provided at its apex with a cylindrical outlet opening M is secured to the lower portion [2 of the hopper in any suitable manner, as by bolts l5. A gasket 15 is clamped between members l2 and l 3 to produce a tight joint. An underslung mushroom type valve l1 engages the spout l3 and controls the discharge of carbide by gravity through the opening l4. Any suitable mechanism for automatically controlling the valve 11 according to the pressure of the gas within the generator may be employed, but the mechanism disclosed in the above-mentioned U. S. Patent No. 2,106,972 is especially suitable. A yieldable seat It of soft rubber or the like may provide a tighter seal at 19 between the valve l1 and the spout I3.

A bafiie cone 20 is provided within the hopper C and is supported in any suitable manner, as by arms 2| having their ends 22 clamped between members 12 and I3 of the hopper which are held by the bolts Hi. This baiiie cone supports the main body of carbide and aids in distributing the carbide more evenly to the outlet opening M. It aids in the prevention of clogging of the outlet opening by a sudden infiuX of carbide when the hopper is being filled, but cannot prevent the slaking and subsequent caking and adherence of the carbide, most pronounced in the regions adjacent and in the outlet opening.

To break up any carbide cake which may occur in the region adjacent the outlet l4 immediately above the feed valve 11 and to scrape adhering carbide from the surfaces of these parts, there is provided a blade-carrying hub 25 having a plurality of blades 23 which taper to cutting edges 24 conforming in shape at their ends and sides to both that portion of the feed valve I! bounded by the rim l9 when the valve is in contact with the rim and also those portions of the spout l3 within and adjacent the outlet opening l4. To cut and dislodge the cake and adhering carbide, the hub 25 and the blades 23 are adapted to be rotated and moved into and away from the outlet opening. The blades and the hub are also adapted to be held in an inoperative position underneath the baflle cone 2!), where they will not interfere with the normal feed of the carbide.

The blades are fixed to the blade carrying hub 25 in any suitable manner, as by welding. While three blades are shown, one or any number of blades may be used to advantage. The hub 25 and the blades 23 may also be forged integrally from a single piece of metal. j

In lieu of the blades, th hub 25 may carry a wire structure which may be constructed in any suitable manner. One method of construction is shown in Fig. 4, in which the hub carries wires 40, whose scraping and cutting edges 24 are similar in shape to the scraping and cutting edges 24 of the blades 23. The wires may have any cross sectional shape. Those shown in Fig. l are square to provide better cutting edges.

To rotate and reciprocate the blades, a shaft 2'! is fastened to the hub 25 by a pin 26. The shaft 21 projects through the apex of the baffle cone 2!] and carries a collar '28 which may be secured thereto by a pin 29. The shaft also passes through a housing tube 30 which is secured in an opening at the apex of the baffie cone in any suitable manner, as by a weld 3!.

To hold the blades normally in an inoperative and non-interfering position, and to automatically return them to this position, a compression spring 32 within the housing bears at its upper end against the collar 28 and at its lower end against a bushing 33 which is secured to the lower end of the housing and also acts as a guide bearing for the shaft 21.

To prevent an accumulation of dust in the inner space of the housing around the shaft which would interfere with the operation of the spring 32, felt or similar material 34 is held between a pair of washers 35. These washers act as a guide bearing for the shaft 21 in the same manner as the bushing 33. The washers 35 and the bushing 33 may be aflixed to the ends of the housing 38 in any suitable manner, as by securing them against an abutment in the inner wall of the housing by a portion of the end of the housing being peened over as at 36. I

To permit operation of the apparatus through the carbide charging door of the hopper, the upper end of the shaft-21 is provided with a fixed cap 31 having an extension 38 which terminates within the generator and is adapted to fit a socket wrench 39, which is preferably T-shaped, and is adapted to be inserted through the charging-door opening. 7

To preclude the danger of explosion due to the ignition of any mixture of acetylene and air, etc., which may be present in the hopper after the charging door has been opened, by sparks occurring as the result of impact of the cleaning device upon the metal forming the walls of the hopper or its outlet construction, or inadvertent clash of the wrench upon the cap, theblades 24 and cap 31 are preferably made of non-sparking material, such as Monel metal or other substantially non-ferrous alloys of nickel or aluminum.

The operation of the apparatus as described above is substantially as follows: During the normal operation of the acetylene generator, the device is disposed in an inoperative and non-interfering position, the blades being positioned immediately under the bafile cone 20. The hub 25 carrying the blades is held against the bushing 33 by the spring 32. When the operator observes that the flow of the carbide is impaired or prevented by caking of the material adjacent the outlet opening, or as insurance that the carbide ,wil1 discharge easily by gravity after a prolonged standby period, the charging door is opened and the wrench is inserted through the charging door opening and placed upon the cap 31, as shown in Fig. 3 in which the open charging door is shown at 42. Downward pressure is exerted on the wrench to overcome the force of the spring 32 and simultaneously a twisting movement is given to the wrench. This will result in a downward movement of the shaft and blades and a rotation of the same, the shaft being guided by bushing 33 and washers 35. The blades will cut through and dislodge the cake. When the blades have reached the limit of their downward movement, as shown in dotted lines at E in Fig. 1, and the surfaces have been scraped clean and smooth, the pressure upon the wrench is relaxed and the spring 32 will carry the shaft and blades upward. By a combination of pressure, turning, and relaxation of pressure, the cake will be divided, dislodged and ground, to produce small particles of carbide which will flow quite easily through the outlet opening. Since the blades conform to the inclined and cylindrical surface at the hopper outlet, as well as the adjoining surface of the valve l'l, it will be evident that these surfaces may be kept clean and smooth and the feed opening may be maintained at its normal size, thereby assuring a free flow of the proper quantity of carbide.

Upon completion of the above operations the wrench is removed, the device automatically assumes its inoperative and non-interfering position, the charging door is closed, and the normal operation of the generator may be resumed.

While the apparatus has been described as applied to an acetylene generator, it will be understood that it may be applied to other containers, such as lime hoppers, which are adapted to hold divided or granular material tending to cake or to adhere to surfaces adjacent a discharge opening. It will also be understood that various changes may be made in the apparatus without departing from the spirit of this invention.

What is claimed is:

1. The combination of a container having an outlet adapted to discharge material from said container, such material tending to adhere to surfaces within and adjacent said outlet; and a cleaning device for dislodging such adhering material from such surfaces by contact with such surfaces, said device comprising a rotatable blade movable toward and away from said outlet, and means for rotating said blade and for moving the same toward and away from said outlet and into contact with such surfaces within and ad jacent said outlet.

2. The combination of a container having an outlet adapted to discharge material by gravity from said container, such material tending to adhere to surfaces within and adjacent said outlet; and a cleaning device for dislodging such adhering material, said device comprising a rotatable and reciprocable blade permanently disposed within said container and conforming in shape to said surfaces, and means for rotating said blade and'for reciprocating the same along its axis of rotation'and into contact with said surfaces within and adjacent said outlet.

3. The combination of a hopper having an outlet adapted to discharge granular material by gravity, such material tending to adhere to surfaces Within. said outlet and within said hopper adjacent said outlet; a cleaning device for dislodging such adhering material by contact with such surfaces comprising a rotatable and reciprocable blade within said hopper; means for rotating said blade about the axis of said outlet and for reciprocating said blade along its axis of rotation and into contact with said surfaces; and means within said hopper for at least partially enclosing said blade when not in use.

4.-. In an acetylene generator, the combination of a hopper adapted to contain granular calcium carbide and having an outlet adapted to discharge such carbide by gravity into a body of water in said generator, such carbide tending to adhere to surfaces within said outlet and within said hopper adjacent said outlet and to form a cake bridging said outlet; a cleaning device for dislodging such adhering carbide and cake comprising a rotatable and reciprocable blade within said hopper; resilient means for moving said blade away from said surfaces; and means for rotating said blade and moving said blade into contact with said surfaces so as to rotate said blade while in contact with said surfaces; and a battle within said hopper above said outlet adapted to at least partially enclose said device when the same is not in use.

5. In an acetylene generator, the combination of a hopper adapted to contain granular calcium carbide and having an outlet adapted to discharge such carbide by gravity into a body of water and a charging door adapted to permit the placing of such carbide within said hopper and also adapted to permit access to said hopper, such carbide tending to adhere to surfaces of said container adjacent said outlet and to form a cake within said hopper in the region adjacent the outlet; a cleaning device for dislodging such adhering and caked carbide, said cleaning device comprising a rotatable and reciprocable blade; and means within said container adjacent said charging door whereby said cleaning device is accessible and operable through said charging door when open.

6. The combination of a container having an outlet adapted to discharge material from said container, such material tending to adhere to surfaces within and adjacent said outlet; and a cleaning device for dislodging such adhering material, said device comprising a rotatable and movable hub having a plurality of spaced blades adapted to contact such surfaces, and means for rotating said hub and moving said hub toward and away from said outlet so as to cause said blades to contact such surfaces.

7. In an acetylene generator, the combination of a hopper adapted to contain granular calcium carbide, and having an outlet adapted to discharge such carbide from said container by gravity into a body of water within said genorator, such carbide tending to adhere to surfaces of said hopper adjacent the outlet and to form a cake bridging the outlet; a cleaning device or dislodging such adhering and caked carbide, said device comprising rotatable and reciprocable spaced blades; resilient means for normally holding said blades in inoperative position above said outlet and for moving said blades away from said outlet; and means for rotating said blades and for moving said blades toward said outlet into contact with said surfaces.

8. In an acetylene generator, the combination of a hopper adapted to contain granular calcium carbide and having an outlet adapted to discharge such carbide by gravity; a valve for controlling the discharge of such carbide from said hopper; a baflle cone disposed within said hopper coaxial with and above said outlet, such carbide tending to adhere to surfaces of said hopper adjacent the outlet and to form a cake bridging the outlet; means for dislodging such adhering and caked carbide, said means including a blade having portions conforming in shape to said surfaces and to a portion of said valve, said blade being rotatable about the axis of said outlet and reciprocable along the axis and normally disposed in an inoperative position and at least partially enclosed within said baffle cone; resilient means for holding said blade in the inoperative position and for moving said blade away from the outlet along the axis thereof; and means for moving said blade into contact with said surface and said valve and for rotating said blade during contact and during such movement.

9. The combination of a container having an outlet adapted to discharge material by gravity from said container; a valve adapted to cooperate with said outlet for controlling the discharge of such. material, such material tending to adhere to surfaces of said container adjacent the outlet and portions of said valve bounded by said outlet when in contact therewith, and also to form a cake in said container adjacent said outlet; a spring housing within said container and supported therefrom; a cleaning device disposed within. said container for dislodging such adhering and caked material comprising a rotatable and reciprocable cutting structure con forming in shape to such portions of said surfaces adjacent said outlet and to such portions of said valve bounded by said outlet; means for moving said cutting structure into contact with such surfaces and said valve and rotating said cutting structure; and means comprising a spring disposed within said housing for retracting such cutting structure from such surfaces and said valve, and holding said cutting structure in an inoperative position.

10. The combination of a container having an outlet adapted to discharge material by gravity from said container; a valve adapted to cooperate with said outlet for controlling the discharge of such material, such material tending to adhere to the portion of said valve bounded by said outlet when in contact therewith, and also to form a cake in said container adjacent said outlet; a cleaning device disposed within said container for dislodging such adhering and caked material comprising a rotatable and reciprocable cutting structure having a portion thereof conforming in shape to such portions of said valve bounded by said outlet; and means for moving said cutting structure into contact with said valve and rotating said cutting structure while in contact with said valve.

11. The combination of a container having an outlet adapted to discharge material by gravity from said container, said. outlet being substantially cylindrical and having a rim at the lower end thereof; a valve adapted to cooperate with said rim for controlling the discharge of such material, such material tending to adhere to the surface of said outlet and to portions of said valve bounded by said rim when in contact therewith, and also to form a cake in said container adjacent said outlet; a cleaning device disposed within said container for dislodging such adhering and caked material comprising a rotatable and reciprocable cutting structure hav ing aportion thereof conforming in shape to said outlet and to such portions of said valve bounded by said rim; and means for moving said cutting structure into contact with said outlet and said valves and rotating said cutting structure while in contact therewith.

12. In an acetylene generator, the combination of a hopper adapted to contain granular calcium carbide and having a charging door and an outlet adapted to discharge such carbide by gravity into a body of water, such carbide tending to adhere to surfaces of said hopper adjacent said outlet and to form a cake Within said hopperin the region adjacent the outlet; a cleaning device for dislodging such adhering and caked carbide by contact with such surfaces, said cleaning device comprising a rotatable and reciprocable blade; and a rotatable and reciprocable shaft connected to said blade and terminating within said hopper adjacent said char-ging door whereby said cleaning device is ac cessible and operable through said charging door when open.

13. In an acetylene generator, the combination of a hopper adapted to contain granular calcium carbide and having an outlet adapted to discharge such carbide by gravity into a body of water in said generator; means for controlling the passage of carbide throughsaid outlet; a plurality of vertically reciprocable blades, a portion of each of said blades being adapted to contact said container within said outlet; a shaft for reciprocating said blades; and means, including a spring, for reciprocating said shaft.

14. The combination with a container having a discharge outlet, of means permanently disposed within said container and operable to clean said outlet, said means comprising a shaft reciprocable along the axis of said outlet and a blade movable by said shaft toward and away from said outlet and into contact with the surface of said container both within and adjacent said outlet,

15. The combination with a container adapted to hold material and having a discharge outlet, of a valve for controlling the flow of such material through said outlet; and means within said container adapted to clean said outlet and a portion of said valve, said means comprising a shaft reciprocable along the axis of said outlet and a blade movable by said shaft toward and away from said outlet and said valve and into contact with the surface of said valve and also the surface of said container adjacent said outlet.

16. In an acetylene generator provided with a hopper adapted to contain granular calcium carbide and having an outlet adapted to discharge such carbide by gravity from said hopper into a body of water within said generator, such carbide tending to adhere-to surfaces of said hopper adjacent said outlet and to form a cake within said hopper bridging said outlet; a cleaning device for dislodging such adhering and caked material, said device comprising a rotatable blade movable toward and away from said outlet, and means for rotating said blade and for moving the same toward and away from said outlet and into contact with such surfaces within and adjacent said outlet, said blade being composed of material adapted to prevent sparks when said blade contacts such surfaces.

ROBERT J. KEHL. 

